Ukrainian political prisoner disappears in Russia's detention center

The lawyer was denied access to his client on the pretext that Emir-Huseyn Kuku had been escorted to another, unnamed, location.

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Lawyer Oleksandr Popkov says a hunger-striking political prisoner awaiting trial, Crimean Tatar human rights activist Emir-Huseyn Kuku, has disappeared from the pre-trial detention facility in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don.

"Lawyer Loktev who arrived in the pre-trial detention center was denied access [to the prisoner] on the pretext that Kuku had been taken away. They don't say where [they have taken him]. Emir has been on hunger strike for 14 days in support of [Oleh] Sentsov. The source is lawyer Sergei Loktev," Popkov wrote on Facebook.

As UNIAN reported, citizens of Ukraine Emir-Huseyn Kuku, as well as Vadym Siruk, Muslim Aliyev, Enver Bekirov, Refat Alimov and Arsen Dzhepparov are accused by Russia of "participating in a terrorist organization" and "planning to seize power through violence." Their cases were merged in one case, the so-called Hizb ut-Tahrir case.

Crimean Tatar activist Emir-Huseyn Kuku was actively engaged in human rights activity after Russia annexed Crimea in March 2014. He was detained in Russian-occupied Crimea on February 11, 2016, amid large-scale police raids. In December 2017, he was moved from Crimea to Russia's Rostov-on-Don and remanded in custody in detention center No. 4.

Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs considers fabricated the case against the said group of Ukrainian citizens.

Emir-Huseyn Kuku, went on hunger strike on his birthday, June 26.

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